Private Victories

I’m no makeup queen, but I have had the pleasure of sharing my living space with one, Chris. Whenever we had events during our senior year in high school, she was the go-to girl for a large percentage of our year group (including me). Praises and accolades, she got plenty, however, no-one really knew how much time and effort it took her to get that good at applying makeup. No one knew how many failed attempts it took her in private before she perfected her craft and shared it with everyone else in public. It is that time and effort that she invested when she was alone, in private, that she owes her public success to.

Our lives require a similar approach as well: get to know yourself well, in private, before you unveil yourself in public. It is important that we spend time with ourselves. It is in private that we to get to know our strengths and learn what complements them and become aware of our weaknesses and accept them. It is important that we fight all the private battles first so that we are better prepared for the public victory.                                                                                        

                                                                                       Take a look at King David. Before he was anointed to be king, before he slayed Goliath, he was a shepherd boy. He, by default, spent most of his time in the pastures, alone. It is there he learnt his strengths and groomed his skills which then helped him in his public victories as king.

“The greatest battles of life are fought out daily in the silent chambers of the soul.”― David O. McKay